In these unprecedented times, office employees were quickly forced to adjust to working from home. And, as a result, those with direct reports must now lead remotely. The good news is that, despite what many believe, “Productivity of employees who work from home is 13% higher than office-bound colleagues,” according to Stanford University.

Nonetheless, managing remote employees – especially during this time when all of our lives have been turned upside down – presents a new challenge for managers and other leaders. Our 3-part on-demand webinar series covers all aspects of navigating remote work and leadership during COVID-19.

Here are some Dos and Don’ts to help you navigate this new environment:

The Basics

Do: Focus on your team.

• Create a culture of follow up and follow through: Set clear goals and expectations, and then keep your team accountable and vice versa.
• Organize scheduled one-on-ones
• Be encouraging: Recognize your team members by writing a short email, texting a quick message and the like. Be creative!
• Build connections: This is always a good practice, but now more than ever we need them. Quick daily check-ins are a good idea.
• Have “open door” hours: Schedule daily hours that you will be available to talk with your employees.
• Find the good: During these time, you may discover some hidden strengths/talents on your team.

Don’t:

• Forget your manners
• Assume they know what you’re thinking, what you want, how you’re feeling, how your day has been, etc.
• Be disrespectful of their time
• Focus more on their schedule versus results
• Micromanage: Instead, DO lead based on what your direct reports need and communicate when you need more from them.
• Let standards/expectations slide
• Lose sight of business goals

COMMUNICATION

Do:

• Overall:
  • Be consistent, clear and courteous
  • Quality versus quantity
  • Understand the context
  • Promote teamwork, no “us” versus “them”
  • Stay calm under pressure

• Regarding your organization’s messages:
  • Own them
  • Show respect for the organization, other teams, other functions
• Set team/individual communication norms (e.g., NNTR = No Need to Respond)
• Make time for “small” talk
• Move from certainty to curiosity: Fight the assumption of negative intentions and ask questions when even a little bit in doubt
• Ask “good” questions: For example, “What’s getting in your way?” and “What has been a ‘win’ for you today?”
• Technology: Regularly update your availability on Skype, MS Teams, etc.; Explore and experiment with different programs, apps, etc.

Don’t:

• Make assumptions in general, in particular that you have been understood (e.g., “This needs to be done quickly.”)
• Communicate as you would in person
• Be a communication bully: Choose your communication volume wisely. Do you really need to text, email and voicemail the same message?
• Think brief communication is clear communication: Sometimes brief is not enough
• Forget a team member

Leading a Team Remotely – big picture guidelines

Check out additional best practices to help keep your teams thriving while working away from the office.

1. Monitor team communication.
   • Are email threads getting too long?
   • Are all relevant parties copied on communications?
   • What seems effective/ineffective?
   • What feedback do you need?
2. Conduct impromptu check-Ins via Microsoft Teams, Skype, text, etc.
3. Send team updates.
   • Determine what frequency is appropriate (e.g., weekly, daily). This could vary by project or other variables.
   • Check your tone: Is it encouraging? Informative?
4. Schedule regular one-on-one calls with each direct report to discuss:
   • Virtual “water cooler”
     • How are you doing?
     • Are there any challenges you are experiencing working remotely.
   • Scheduling organized calls
     • How often should we have a scheduled call?
     • When? (set up calendar invites immediately)
     • What will be discussed?
   • How should we communicate between calls?
     • Email? Skype? Text? IM? Call?
     • What is your preference? What is my preference?
   • Office hours
     • Emergency? Call my cell
   • Agree that when unsure about any communication, ask! This will minimize misinterpretation.
5. Hold a weekly video team meeting.
   • Include all appropriate employees
   • Ask an opening question to build connection (e.g., “What’s one thing you did this week that you didn’t expect to?,” “What’s the funniest thing that happened this week?,” etc.)
   • Seek feedback
     • What’s working? What isn’t? What do we need to adjust?
     • How are we communicating?
     • Focus on business objectives: updates, results, priorities, challenges, etc.
     • Also allow and even encourage laughter, lightheartedness
     • Stay on time

Following these Dos, Don’ts and big picture guidelines will give you a good starting point for developing your remote leadership style. Then, make adjustments along the way to match the needs of your business, employees and projects.